The present invention generally relates to a seat-to-seat wiring assembly such as in a passenger aircraft and, more specifically, to a wiring assembly having an electrical raceway that provides a conduit for a wire harness and a seat track cover that protects the raceway from damage, such as from feet and luggage.
Airline passenger seats that have electrical requirements use seat-to-seat wiring harnesses that originate shipside and also utilize existing cabin carpeting to cover the wiring or raceways to route the wiring. The wiring is held in place with the carpet, using adhesive carpet tape, for the length of the main cabin.
FIG. 1 depicts a cross sectional view looking forward in an aircraft of a typical seat-to-seat wiring assembly 10 employed in the past. The assembly 10 is often installed adjacent a seat leg 14 having a fastener for fastening a portion of the seat to the leg 14. Wiring 13 is routed under an outboard strip of carpet 18. In turn, the carpet 18 is held in place by carpet tape 12 along the bottom of a main cabin side wall 15, as well as outboard of the seat row leg 14, for most of the length of the aircraft main cabin. Because the carpet 18 alone unsatisfactorily covers the wiring 13 and the seat track 17, a cover 19 caps the carpet 18 between the seat rows. The cover 19 includes legs 19a that are captured in a seat track 17.
However, the use of adhesive carpet tape to hold the wiring in place under the cabin carpet has made it difficult to control and route the wire bundles. It also prevents the carpet from lying flat, which exposes the wiring as it approaches or lies near the carpet edges. Additionally, the wiring has to be installed after the seats are in place due to requirements of the assembly sequence. The result has been extraordinarily tight quarters between the seat rows and cabin side walls into which mechanics and electricians have been forced to squeeze themselves to install the wire harness. The past seat-to-seat wiring design has also made it difficult to route the harnesses neatly under the typical two-inch wide strip of carpet, before connecting the harnesses to each seat row.
As can be seen, there is a need for an improved apparatus for installing and protecting wire harnesses such as in a seat-to-seat application for aircraft.
In one aspect of the present invention, a protective wire routing apparatus comprises a raceway having a first portion, a second portion that is opposite the first portion, and a self-closing portion intermediate the first and second portions; and a cover that is configured to interface one of the first and second portions of the raceway; with the cover having a first rib to transmit force to one of the first and second portions.
In another aspect of the present invention, a seat-to-seat wiring assembly comprises a raceway having a top portion, a bottom portion that is opposite the top portion, and a self-closing portion intermediate the top and bottom portions, with the bottom portion interfacing a support on which the assembly can be disposed; and a cover that interfaces the top portion of the raceway, with the cover having a load bearing rib that transmits force from the top portion to the self-closing portion, from the self-closing portion to the bottom portion, and from the bottom portion to the support.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a raceway for protecting wiring comprises a top portion; a bottom portion that is opposite the top portion; and a self-closing portion intermediate the top and bottom portions; the self-closing portion having a top locking rib and a top guide rib; the top locking rib having a top engagement bump; the top guide rib interfaces the bottom portion to transmit force from the top portion to the bottom portion; the bottom portion having a bottom locking rib that is configured to be disposed between the top locking rib and top guide rib; and the bottom locking rib having a bottom engagement bump to frictionally engage the top engagement bump.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.